Veritas Prep in the Wall Street Journal

Last week the Wall Street Journal’s Diana Middleton wrote a great piece about things to think about while juggling a full-time job and the MBA application process. (Hopefully, in this economy, you still have a job to juggle along with your applications!) In “Getting Back to School,” she covers six important things applicants should do.

The article outlines six important steps you need to take in the process, from strategically planning the timing of your applications to gracefully departing from your job once you leave for business school. When Diana spoke with us, we emphasized one thing that many applicants don’t do enough: keep working on their candidacies even after they’ve submitted their applications.

“Wait,” you’re saying, “Once I send in my applications, I’m done! I can finally relax and stop hounding my supervisor for letters of recommendation and quit asking my friends to read my essays over and over.” You’re right that the deadline-driven stress of the application process is then over, but there’s still plenty that you can do. Two things you should do (and think about) were covered in the article:

Work harder in the office. If you keep working hard and seeking out new challenges and growth opportunities, then you’ll have more to talk about if you are invited to interview with your target schools. If you’re waitlisted, achieving something new in the workplace will give you a good reason to update the admissions office and boost your candidacy. And, if you’re rejected, then you’re already on your way to building an even stronger application next year. When it comes to your career, you should never let up on the gas pedal, but you especially don’t want to do it at such an important juncture in your young career.

Prepare for the interview.By the time you’re invited to interview (and hopefully that happens!), you should know your application inside and out. Some schools conduct their interviews “blind,” with the interviewer only knowing your resume, while other schools’ interviewers will know your entire application. In either case, anything that you put on your resume or in your application is fair game, and you should expect to be questioned about any of it. Also, it’s your job to know what the school’s interviewers tend to ask — you have enough time to prepare that nothing should catch you off guard.

Taking these steps will help to maximize your success this year, or — if you’re not successful now — they will give you a head start for next year.

If you’re still researching schools and deciding to apply, or are getting ready for your own admissions interviews, download our 15 free Veritas Prep Annual Reports. If you’re ready to craft your own winning application, call us at 800-925-7737 and speak with an MBA admissions expert today!